A Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to three years in prison for molesting a 14-year-old boy in the A Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to three years in prison for molesting a 14-year-old boy in the rectory of a north-central Illinois parish last year.

Bureau County Circuit Judge C. Howard Wampler sentenced 61-year-old Toussaint Perron after Perron pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. State's Attorney Marc Bernabei said evidence in a trial would have shown Perron abused the boy in the rectory of St. John's Church in Walnut, a town about 50 miles north of Peoria.

Investigators said they believe the priest abused the youth several other times during the summer and fall of 1992. Bureau County authorities arrested Perron Dec. 21 after the youth revealed the abuse during a counseling session.

Bernabei said there also is evidence Perron sexually abused a boy in another county several years ago. However, that case was not prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired.